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Nebraska...Our Towns

Blue Hill -- Webster County

Blue Hill's Diamond Jubilee Anniversary invitation to old-timers and former residents to come home for the festivities "under new lights." 1953.

Typical farm house, when the soddy or dugout had served its purpose. [Martin, Bartley]

George Corner's station, run by Lewis Lukas and his wife. [Roskilly]

With and without irrigation. These fields of corn show a stark contrast and hope for farming in Nebraska with the addition of "ditch water." 1939. [Nebraska State Historical Society]

Settlement began in this area during the 1870s. A town site was laid out one mile south
of the Adams-Webster county line, on the Hastings branch of the Burlington & Missouri
River Railroad in 1878. The immediate expansion of the town can be attributed to the good
soil, the fine railroad facilities, and its distance from larger towns. These same
conditions still exist, with both a north-south and east-west line of the
Burlington-Northern Railroad still in service here.

The town
was first called Belmont, but since there was already a town by that name, the people
chose the name "Blue Hill." Gannett's work on place names states that the town
was so named because of a "bluish atmosphere" surrounding the hill the town was
built on.

The population, according to the census bureau, has ranged from 138 hearty souls in
1880 to 883 equally-hearty souls in 1980. In the 1970 census the bureau had the population
listed at 1,200, however, this included the entire precinct, not just the city. After
several letters to the bureau, the record was corrected to 760 people.

The first building in Blue Hill was a hotel owned by Albert Blumenthal. A post office
was built with John A. Wetmore as postmaster. Hall and Wetmore then established an
agricultural implement business. By 1882 there were three banks and a full array of shops
and businesses including a photographer, two physicians, and a newspaper. The town still
has a livestock sale barn, feed store, and drinking establishments (now referred to as
lounges), as well as present-day services that include cablevision, a medical center, a
greenhouse, and specialty businesses such as cake baking and crafts. The community has
many descendents from the first settlers of the Blue Hill area.

On June 24,
1890, a fire nearly destroyed the north side of the business block. The firemen fought
valiantly to contain the fire with bucket brigades from the two cisterns available. After
the fire, citizens insisted that the town build a water tower for more adequate fire
protection. In 1890-91, a 100,000-gallon water tower was built. It still serves as Blue
Hill's water system.

Almost as soon as the town began, a non-denominational church was built. Congregations
in the early 1900s included German Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist, Christian, Presbyterian,
Evangelical, and Independent Order of Good Templars. The congregations at the present time
are Methodist, Catholic, American Lutheran, and Missouri Synod Lutheran.

Schools started as soon as suitable housing was available, which usually was someone's
kitchen. The first school district was formed in 1880. Early that spring a schoolhouse was
built on land donated for that purpose. The class of 1892 appears to be the first high
school class to graduate. The three-story brick schoolhouse, now the elementary school,
was built in 1922-23. A junior-senior high school was built in 1963 following
reorganization of the district.

The people of Blue Hill voted to bring electricity into town in August 1910. Shortly
thereafter a steam plant was built, along with the distribution lines. It served the town
for many years. The light plant's two diesel-powered engines are still available as
back-up power in an emergency, but the primary source of power comes from the Western Area
Power Administration and Nebraska Municipal Power Pool.

A swimming pool was built in the northeast part of town in 1932 by local businessman
George Corner, and donated to the village in 1937. In 1980 the city purchased the pool
that was originally built for the Ash Hollow Country Club. The city had leased it for
several years.

The Glenwood Telephone Company originated in 1901, and built lines in the village the
next year. This small company still serves Blue Hill and eight other communities in the
immediate area.

Activities
in Blue Hill have centered around the school gym, city hall, and the community room at
Westgate Manor (low rent housing units).

Recently the people in the community have worked together at a variety of fund raising
activities that include "The $100 Club," hometown revue, bake sales, and soup
suppers, to match 25 percent of the $200,000 block grant needed to build a
community-senior center. This has been a very worthwhile effort, with the project now
fully funded.